Bottom paint?
 

I'm looking at a mariah that has been bottom painted, i will be exclusively using in freshwater, but have heard people state never buy a bottom painted boat, can someone explain what it's all about. Thanks

Re: Bottom paint?
 

if you'll be storing the boat in the water for the season, it prevents any marine life from growing on your boat. in freshwater areas like the great lakes, inland lakes, rivers, etc, where there's problems with Zebra mussels and things like that, you'll definitely appreciate the bottom paint.

from a performance standpoint, yes it does take a MPH or two off the top speed of the boat. and it'll need to be repainted every 2-3 years, and it's a little expensive, but you can use paint in a wide range of colors including white. I think it's about $275 per gallon if you were to paint it yourself, and depending on the size of your boat, it would probably cost you at least $500 to have it done professionally by a marine service center.

If you're going to be trailering it in and out every time you use it, or storing in a dry dock facility, bottom paint isn't necessary.

one thing i can tell you, it's not easy to remove!! you'll spend tons of time and physical labor removing it, and then if you want to restore the boat back to original, you'll end up having to re-gelcoat the bottom, which can be expensive as hell.

Re: Bottom paint?
 

Basically, once the boat has bottom paint, it's extremely expensive and time consuming to get it off. If it was applied correctly, they should have roughed up the surface to get the paint to stick, which means having the boat re-gelcoated when it's removed.

If you plan to moor the boat in the water, it may be worth having. The paint will dissolve over time, and it contains a high amount of copper. This prevents any growth on the bottom and helps keep from blistering.

If you plan to trailer or have a lift, the bottom paint is essentially an eye sore. Doesn't hurt anything, just there. Problem is, it needs to be re-applied after a few years, so you need to know whether to re-do it, or pay the money to have it removed and re-gelcoated.

I have it on mine, plus I have a lift. So it's an eye sore to me, but I don't want to spend the $2000 to have it removed. That's the main reason people say to walk away. Others say it's bad because it shows the boat was constantly on the water and could have blistering, water intrusion, rotting, etc. I don't listen to most of those comments, as long as you check the boat top to bottom (especially if you have it surveyed). Surveyors have a special hammer and know what to listen for when knocking the hull - they can tell if there's water intrusion.

Re: Bottom paint?
 

Bottom paint, when referred-to as the stuff that prevents marine growth on the bottom, will not do a thing to prevent, or even retard, blistering. What you need for that is what's called "barrier coat," over which bottom paint is applied.

Our boat will be in the water all season, in a canal off a freshwater lake. I'm hoping her fiberglass and gelcoat work was done well, so blistering won't be an issue. Then we'll just have to deal with the inevitable brown stain (already happening), if we want.

If she does experience blistering, I'll have to decide what to do at that point.

As for expense: We paint the hull of our 30' sailboat, incl. keel and rudder, with VC17 every spring. Takes only two quarts, if the bottom's properly prepped (basically: Washed down real well with a power washer, maybe hit with a ScotchBrite pad here-and-there) and you're talented with a brush and roller :) (Which I most definitely am not, which is why The Admiral does the actual painting.) This spring VC17 was $65/qt., IIRC.

Jim

Re: Bottom paint?
 

So bottom paint is not the end of a boats life, doesn't seem like a big deal for a freshwater boat.
The hard part is acquiring a Mariah boat, it's like if you are not the first caller you lose. I'm now 2nd in line waiting for a callback from the seller!!
Thanks All.

Re: Bottom paint?
 

I got my Z225 out of the water a couple of days ago. She's been in a wet slip all year round and I saw some blistering on the port side...

The thought of ugly antifouling paint does not appeal to me, so I've been doing some research on the gelcoat blistering and have found Interlux Interprotect 2000E which is a 2 part epoxy barrier that requires 4-5 coats (sprayed on) and stops any water getting under the gelcoat... It wont be the eyesore that antifouling paint is and will protect the hull from blistering. The boat is in fresh water.

Has anyone used this?

Re: Bottom paint?
 

You're not just limited to black, brown and blue antifouling paint, Pettit Paints makes a series called "Vivid" that includes many colors, including white. That might be something to consider putting over your epoxy barrier coat.

Also just for the record, Mariah's were made with a Vinyl Ester barrier coat from the factory. At least that's what my 2000 brochure says!

Re: Bottom paint?
 

... interesting... vinylester... that is actually good news.. that means an epoxy based compound will adhere to it at a higher shear component compared to a pure polyester based gelcoat... Just to be on the safer side, after the wet sanding, a primer of vinylester undercoat couldnt hurt...

I'm not a big fan of the vivid color series.. they just don't match the hull color...

vinnie

Re: Bottom paint?
 

The vinylester would've been a barrier coat applied to the fiberglass under the gelcoat, if I understand how these things are done.

We're getting a bit of blistering on the keel of our '76 Pearson P30 sailboat. (Fixed a number of those this spring, before splash.) I'll have more to do after next haul-out, and I'm thinking, after repairing whatever blisters I find, of sanding the remaining bottom paint off and giving the entire keel a few coats of a vinylester barrier coat to stop the problem for good.

Right now I'm crossing my fingers and praying our Barchetta doesn't blister. I need more bottom work like that like I need another hole in my head! :p

Jim

Re: Bottom paint?
 

We slip our boat in the Mississippi and the hull is white. We chose not to go with the bottom paint because it's expensive to maintain. We have pulled the boat out once and I pressure washed it and nearly all of the staining came off. Before we winterize it, we'll really scrub it and make it all nice again. I think it's a personal preference with the paint, just be prepared for the upkeep.

;)